Thoughts on The Library Policeman

[Violet]

Hi. I'm kinda new here. I noticed that there were no threads on
the novella The Library policeman from the Four Past Midnight
collection. I have read everything that SK wrote and this is
actually one of my favorites of all his works. I've read like 10 times.
I was wondering if anyone else enjoyed this novella and had opinions on it (good or bad).
I would love to discuss this novella.

[jchanic]

I think one of the reasons not too many people comment on it was that it makes a lot of people uncomfortable due to the child molestation part.

John

[zombierolton]

One of my favorites for sure. I need to reread this one again asap.

[zombierolton]

After browsing the wikipedia entry for this story I noticed the cool latin quote that appears in one of the dreams.

"Fuimus, non sumus".

Does anyone know any more info on the source of this besides the explanation given in the wikipedia?

[wally wonder]

hi violet. yeah, great story. surprising number of connections to duma key, no? the storm. ardelia. she waits. she sleeps. licorice. i like how dirty dave duncan's posters (paintings) kinda come alive, make things happen. i've read t.l.p. now several times and until this re-read, didn't see the connections to duma, a different take on the same subject.

wonder if there really is a pell's in des moines? spent some time there, reason i ask. guess i could google that, hey? take another trip.

thought that latin was at the st. louis library? ...oh, okay, yeah, sam is dreaming on the airplane, revisiting his past i guess. little white walking sam.

can't make sense out of that diversion into the phone booth by sam, when he and naomi are on their way to the library. other than picking up the wrapper. where'd that come from? kinda like the pass in desperation, or that wrapper, some kind of candy bar was it, same work? anyway, they stop at the store and sam ducks into that telephone booth on his way into the store. dunno.

there's a phrase early on in the story, 'get shirty on him'. don't believe i've heard that before. it happens when sam is preparing the note he intends to give to ardelia, or drop off at the library, along with a 20-jackson.

kinda bugs me. novella. i dunno about anyone else, but seems like all four stories can stand alone as "novels". but i guess with sk, "short" gets twisted around somehow and when they're tucked onto the shelf next to It and Tommyknockers...but still. who decides these things? the library committee?

[michal]

I liked the story a lot but yes, perhaps I've not been quick to reread it because it also makes me extremely uncomfortable. Not necessarily because of the heroes terrible experience as a child (saved you a spoiler button there Ms. Mod), but because the whole story has a dreamlike feeling that makes me... Prickly. Like wanting to scratch myself under my skin.

[mindfungus]

I am new to reading stephen King Maybe seven books under my belt and I loved this story one of my favorites for sure.

[mindfungus]

I am kinda new to the Stephen King world, Maybe seven books under my belt. This story is one of the best I have read so far.

[Mr. Palmer]

I thought this was an interesting read. My favorite part is the airplane "child molestation" ride. I think that was the kick the story really needed. And who can walk away from this one without the smell of red licorice wafting in the air?

Btw: Does anyone think that Ardelia is related to Pennywise?

[M-O-O-N SPELLS MY NAME]

I liked the story, probably my favorite from the book. As for the "incident" that Sam is a part of as a child, while an integral part of the story, I felt it didn't need to be so GRAPHICALLY described....mental images I won't ever be able to scrub from my brain

[BTRNYC]

Loved this story. I felt like it was a lil mini "IT"

[GNTLGNT]

Yeah, it's a danged fine piece-it's also why I cross the street to avoid walking past my County library!

[britnard]

I loved this story, and I also thought that Ardelia sounded a lot like Pennywise

[knox]

Just about to comment on another of the stories from Four Past Midnight being one of my favourites, and making the realisation that this is probably overall one of my favourite collections. (I love the Langoliers and also Secret Windon, Secret Garden).

I thought the Library Policeman had such an amazingly strong storyline, with so many moments that just stood out as being far too easy to picture vividly - for example, despite the impossiblity of such a thing in reality, I always get this really vivid image of ardelia sucking the child's fear tears - makes my skin crawl each time - to me that felt like just as much a violation as the incident that happened to little white walking sam - and God yeah, that revisitation of it when he's on the plane just brings me to tears each time - and I'm not nornally such a big wuss! :wink2:

And I'm not sure for others, but the source of sam's own l.p. didnt make it any more uncomfortable for me than certain scenes, for example, in IT, and Needful Things.

As for the links to Duma Key - it was such an age between reading the two (and my memory is appalling!) that I never noticed them. Right - off to do a bit f re-reading!

(by the way, I don't know how to 'thank' people for posts)

[upinurface]

Wow someone else who likes this story I must admit my mum told me a story about library police and i still have never taken a book back l8 lol my kids on the other hand the story didn't work on my eldest who is 16 so not fair thats when he told me he didn't like this story i neraly freaked lol but i have two daughters who i can get to read hopefully

[jcadams]

Ok, I had never heard of the Library Police before my first read of this story, back in the 90's.
I also thought of It while reading about Ardelia. Could she be one of the ones that got away? Also, Sam's library police reminded me of the tramp under the porch. I actually went back to the beginning at one point of the story to see where it was taking place.
Did anyone else notice that he reads a newpaper called Democrat? Shades of Under the Dome.
And possible Gunslinger reference.................."life is like a narrow beam over an endless chasm, a beam we have to walk blindfolded." Maybe just because it mentioned a beam, but made me think it was something Roland would say.

[jcadams]

Yeah, it's a danged fine piece-it's also why I cross the street to avoid walking past my County library!
My hometown library is as this one was described as being in the 60's. Bushes out front, tall ceilings, floor to ceiling bookshelves, ONE person working at a time, and very dim lighting. Quite creepy now that I think about it. And the librarian (sp?) is small, round, very old and has white "beauty shop" curls.

[ellisd]

first time i read this story i was pretty shocked at the dream scene when sam's a little boy again but none the less i thought it was a great story, one i recently re-read this past week.

[kennedy]

This is by far my favorite sk short, scary and uncomfortable but as with nearly all his work totally gripping

[MikeB]

Hi. I'm kinda new here. I noticed that there were no threads on
the novella The Library policeman from the Four Past Midnight
collection. I have read everything that SK wrote and this is
actually one of my favorites of all his works. I've read like 10 times.
I was wondering if anyone else enjoyed this novella and had opinions on it (good or bad).
I would love to discuss this novella.
I love this story, orinally read, then listened to on cassette now on CD, it'd one of my faves also. The characters are wonderful, I love Naomi/Sarah, Dirty Dave has a truly horrific tale to tell and Sam comes face to face with his worst nightmare, which is actually a real memory of terrible things in his past, Kind of reminded me of Peter Straub on that subject but thats no bad thing. Its very moving in places and terrifying in others. We don't have the Library PD here in the UK and im soo glad!

[Evil Queen]

I don't remember the first time I read this book, although I know I must've read it because I found it & it had my maiden name in it, which I always put my name in all the books I bought & read. I think I must have black it out. This story was an amazing one, until it came to the part of Sam's dream, where he remembered his Library Policeman. I felt very angry & sickened that SK felt that so much description was needed to get his point across, that being this horrible incident happened to Sam as a child which was probably why he avoided libraries as an adult. I do not think reading things like this are entertainment, or at least, it doesn't entertain me. I feel a few sentences would've sufficed to let us know that it did happen without having to go into the disgusting details. These types of things make me very angry, & I was wondering if I should continue supporting my favorite author, SK,...that's how strongly I feel. But as I think about it, many people do just that- ignore that such things happen all the time to innocent, unprotected children & don't want to acknowledge it. It's just some dirty little secret we don't bring out in the open. So maybe if more people can read about these things & know that this is what is possible when you don't guard your children, they will be very afraid to let their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc., go places alone. What made me feel a little better was that Sam confronted his past & did not feel it necessary to hide from it anymore. It was a huge burden that no longer weighed him down & he was able to live happily ever, or so we think. Perhaps if someone has something like this in their past that needs to get it out, this story might make them confront it, if even it's just with their own self. That's where all healing must begin, within one's own mind & body, before it can be truly forgotten & laid to rest.

[Spooky Chick]

:smile2:I just finished reading this one as I'm working my way through Four Past Midnight. I enjoyed it and yes it did remind me of It. I totally missed the links to Duma Key but definitely agree they're there! I found Sam's flashback a little graphic but not unnecessary. I had seen it coming so it wasn't a shock. I like what the person above said about people who have experienced these horrific things needing to face up to them and deal with them, and that society shouldn't brush these things under the carpet. I work with survivors of sexual abuse and rape and I would recommend they read this story as long as they would not be traumatised by it of course.
I think maybe one of the reasons a lot of SKs short stories remind me of It is because he has written so much about monsters who feed on our deepest darkest fears, and how the only way to kill these monsters is to face them head on and face those fears. I find it's a great way to get through life, especially when you incorporate the philosophies explored in DT about staying true and following the path.
Thanks again SK

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Aye, indeed.

Evil Queen and Spooky Chick, you MUST read FDNS soon!

Long days and pleasant nights

[Silhouette86]

I read Four past Midnight about ten years ago. The Library Policeman is the hardest story for me to remember. So many things I can't remember about it. I might re-read it when I'm short on books. I definately don't remember it being bad at all.

[Cthulhu]

The Library Police are real. My wife is a librarian and she assured me of their existence.

[motocop]

Does anybody still go to the library? My local bookstore has used paperbacks for under a dollar. Ive found every SK book there. You can research anything online now. Just like the polaroid in Sun Dog, libraries in my opinion are out of date. I may be wrong though.

[PatInTheHat]

Does anybody still go to the library? My local bookstore has used paperbacks for under a dollar. Ive found every SK book there. You can research anything online now. Just like the polaroid in Sun Dog, libraries in my opinion are out of date. I may be wrong though.

I may be headed to the library this afternoon as a matter of fact, so either your wrong, or I'm out of date:dunno:.
(does anyone happen to know where my expiration date happens to be on my particular model...hmm, could it be it in Roman numerals perhaps:eyebrow:?)

[Cthulhu]

Does anybody still go to the library?

Yes. I can assure you that plenty of people still go to the library and that they provide a valuable public service. Contact your local representative and request more funds for them.

[king family fan]

I liked the choice of names he used in this story. I was very impressed when I read this the first time. Have re-read a couple of times.

[wings47]

The Library Policeman was always one of my favorites. Yes, the subject matter is difficult to deal with, very hard to read, especially if one has abuse issues in one's background. I think the masterful part of SK's talent is how he shows the long-lasting effects of this horror on a child and how it follows you with all its fear, sorrow and rage into adulthood. The protagonist (sorry, can't remember his name) is so closed off, shut down and isolated. This is the usual result of childhood abuse. It amazes me how well SK seems to understand this pathology. You should listen to the audio version, too. It's very good. Can't remember the reader - could it be the great Frank Muller? It's been quite awhile since I've listened to it. Sandy

[SamanthaS]

I love my library. I go at least 3 times a week. Please support your local library!!!

[Glaaki]

Theory: Ardelia Lortz was once a normal person. Judging from the growth on the back on Naomi's neck, it would seem to indicate that Ardelia too began as a human being, but got "infected" to become what she became.

[lionel]

I really liked it:it was much more violent than the rest and more shocking.What I would have loved to see is some kind of connection to It..I mean I am not the first person to point out how Ardelia and It are similar